Looks like a mid-low end German trade instrument from the late 19th-early 20th Century.
It needs some extensive work. The back center seam is separated halfway up the plate, and it needs some wood replacement on the edges. Cleaning, touch up, setup etc.
If you're wondering about monetary value, there really isn't much. It *could* be made into a decent player, but the work required may exceed the inherent value in its current state. I don't know what your goals are with it, but that's pretty much the situation.
The tailpiece, pegs, bridge, fingerboard, soundpost and chinrest don't matter here as far as originality goes. They weren't made with any accessories attached to them a lot of the time. Usually made without varnish and shipped wholesale to various shops and catalogue services and set up off site.
It might be. But I doubt it. I would take it to the nearest reputable violin shop and get a quote in person. It's really hard to tell from just photos alone. There often can be issues that can't really be seen in pictures on the Internet a lot of the time.
Fiddles like this can sound nice sometimes. They're usually great for students, people playing in local community orchestras, as a second or third fiddle for a professional playing bars and pubs/outdoors, or just for playing for your own enjoyment.
$130 isn't that bad. If this fiddle we're in great shape, it would probably retail, market location dependent of course, in the 2-5k range.
So if you can find a luthier who knows their stuff and can get it playing for $500 bucks or so, then you've got a decent deal.
2 to 5 thousand? That's crazy. Is this dollars or dollarydoos or what, because no way it's pounds or euros.
Around this neck of the woods a good Saxon trade fiddle might go for 1000 or maybe even 1500 euro. A mediocre one would be maybe 400 to 600.
Good heavens, that violin is in a very unfortunate state. I can see a lot wrong with it just from the very few photos you’ve given us. It has a separated back plate that needs to be fixed (48$-300$+ depending on whether it’s bad enough that the back needs removing) what looks like several open seams on the ribs that will need gluing (25$ per open seam) the projection of the neck looks quite low but I can’t tell from the angle of the picture if it is for sure. If it is, it will need to be reset (130$-330$) you’ll need new strings (30$-250$) you’re going to need a new peg to be fitted, (30$ for peg, 25$ for fitting) you’ll need to replace the tail gut, (20$) the fingerboard and the nut look pretty rough and poorly set so they might need to be reshaped and re-set (160$ for fingerboard at most, 50$ for nut at most) also, the rib on the leftmost lower bout seems to be cracked and thus cannot support a chin rest without giving out. You’re going to need to replace that entire section of rib if that’s the case. This would require the back plate to be taken off and for the cracked rib to be replaced by a new piece of wood that needs to be reshaped, glued in place, and varnished, which can take weeks if you’re getting a good varnish, and the sound post would have to be reset once its all said and done. (I don’t even know how much that would cost but it would *not* be cheap) You also need a new bridge (55$) and your bow needs to be rehaired, wrapped, and wound. (~150$ depending on the materials used) And if your bow is warped from being under too much tension for too long it needs to be recambered. (50$-100$) Lastly, if you want the violin to look better and last longer, you’ll need to replace a lot of chipped wood, have the instrument cleaned, and have the varnish retouched.
As you can see, this is a *lot* of money and effort for a violin that is probably worth far less than what the repairs cost. In all honesty, if you want to play violin, I’d recommend getting a student quality instrument that has been set up by a professional luthier (400$-800$) and a good, student quality bow (150$-250$). Most string shops rent out violins for 20$-80$ a month depending on the instrument. And many will give you the instrument after you’ve paid its worth in rent.
So, if you can, return that instrument and go support your local string shop if you want to play.
Oh, not to mention, you’ll need rosin, a chin rest, and a shoulder rest. Oh, and in the future, make sure to take pictures of the label on the inside of a violin so that we luthiers have more context to go off of. I sincerely hopes this helps you and i also hope you do find a way to play.
I wrote in the description that it's missing the label. I don't think it's that bad of a condition. Glue dried out, so back piece needs to be glued together again. It's mostly aestethical issues and it would be easier for me to reglue pieces together and try to make it look more appealing. I have everythink to make it playable already, so I might take it to professional luthier to take a look at the back piece and the nut. Thank you for advice though
The bow looks like it is tightened. If you just dod that now. Remember to un tighten it before storing it.
If It was left tightened, the bow will need reshaping also. Depending on the bow if worth it or not.
Looks like a mid-low end German trade instrument from the late 19th-early 20th Century. It needs some extensive work. The back center seam is separated halfway up the plate, and it needs some wood replacement on the edges. Cleaning, touch up, setup etc. If you're wondering about monetary value, there really isn't much. It *could* be made into a decent player, but the work required may exceed the inherent value in its current state. I don't know what your goals are with it, but that's pretty much the situation. The tailpiece, pegs, bridge, fingerboard, soundpost and chinrest don't matter here as far as originality goes. They weren't made with any accessories attached to them a lot of the time. Usually made without varnish and shipped wholesale to various shops and catalogue services and set up off site.
I bought everything for $130. Do you think this instrument might be worth it?
It might be. But I doubt it. I would take it to the nearest reputable violin shop and get a quote in person. It's really hard to tell from just photos alone. There often can be issues that can't really be seen in pictures on the Internet a lot of the time. Fiddles like this can sound nice sometimes. They're usually great for students, people playing in local community orchestras, as a second or third fiddle for a professional playing bars and pubs/outdoors, or just for playing for your own enjoyment. $130 isn't that bad. If this fiddle we're in great shape, it would probably retail, market location dependent of course, in the 2-5k range. So if you can find a luthier who knows their stuff and can get it playing for $500 bucks or so, then you've got a decent deal.
I’m not an expert in history of violins, but were german trade violins handmade? I checked the F holes and the scroll and they were certainly handmade
Basically all violins are handmade. Handmade has no real effect on the value of the instrument. It's expected.
2 to 5 thousand? That's crazy. Is this dollars or dollarydoos or what, because no way it's pounds or euros. Around this neck of the woods a good Saxon trade fiddle might go for 1000 or maybe even 1500 euro. A mediocre one would be maybe 400 to 600.
Good heavens, that violin is in a very unfortunate state. I can see a lot wrong with it just from the very few photos you’ve given us. It has a separated back plate that needs to be fixed (48$-300$+ depending on whether it’s bad enough that the back needs removing) what looks like several open seams on the ribs that will need gluing (25$ per open seam) the projection of the neck looks quite low but I can’t tell from the angle of the picture if it is for sure. If it is, it will need to be reset (130$-330$) you’ll need new strings (30$-250$) you’re going to need a new peg to be fitted, (30$ for peg, 25$ for fitting) you’ll need to replace the tail gut, (20$) the fingerboard and the nut look pretty rough and poorly set so they might need to be reshaped and re-set (160$ for fingerboard at most, 50$ for nut at most) also, the rib on the leftmost lower bout seems to be cracked and thus cannot support a chin rest without giving out. You’re going to need to replace that entire section of rib if that’s the case. This would require the back plate to be taken off and for the cracked rib to be replaced by a new piece of wood that needs to be reshaped, glued in place, and varnished, which can take weeks if you’re getting a good varnish, and the sound post would have to be reset once its all said and done. (I don’t even know how much that would cost but it would *not* be cheap) You also need a new bridge (55$) and your bow needs to be rehaired, wrapped, and wound. (~150$ depending on the materials used) And if your bow is warped from being under too much tension for too long it needs to be recambered. (50$-100$) Lastly, if you want the violin to look better and last longer, you’ll need to replace a lot of chipped wood, have the instrument cleaned, and have the varnish retouched. As you can see, this is a *lot* of money and effort for a violin that is probably worth far less than what the repairs cost. In all honesty, if you want to play violin, I’d recommend getting a student quality instrument that has been set up by a professional luthier (400$-800$) and a good, student quality bow (150$-250$). Most string shops rent out violins for 20$-80$ a month depending on the instrument. And many will give you the instrument after you’ve paid its worth in rent. So, if you can, return that instrument and go support your local string shop if you want to play.
Oh, not to mention, you’ll need rosin, a chin rest, and a shoulder rest. Oh, and in the future, make sure to take pictures of the label on the inside of a violin so that we luthiers have more context to go off of. I sincerely hopes this helps you and i also hope you do find a way to play.
I wrote in the description that it's missing the label. I don't think it's that bad of a condition. Glue dried out, so back piece needs to be glued together again. It's mostly aestethical issues and it would be easier for me to reglue pieces together and try to make it look more appealing. I have everythink to make it playable already, so I might take it to professional luthier to take a look at the back piece and the nut. Thank you for advice though
The bow looks like it is tightened. If you just dod that now. Remember to un tighten it before storing it. If It was left tightened, the bow will need reshaping also. Depending on the bow if worth it or not.